It was always dark nowadays. From the window seat, Melody could see it all clearly: A cloudy sky littered with Dementors, coloured charcoal even when the sun was high in the sky; the gardens below, filled with plants and flowers that were scarcely a shade off from grey; the manor's windows, barely lit with a sickly green glow; even the clothes she was forced to wear were black as pitch.

Two soft knocks broke the deasthlike silence. "May I come in?" called out a voice she knew better than any.

"Come in, Draco."

The lock clicked and the towheaded young man entered, dressed like he was on his way to a funeral. He spotted her by the window, staring despondently through the glass like a painting. "You look lovely today, Mel," he complimented her, "That dress really suits you."

"Your mother gave it to me the other day," she replied cheerlessly, "She thought you would like it."

Her languid response was more than a little disheartening, but he tried to smile as well as he could anyway, hoping it would cheer her up. "I've got something for you," he prompted, sure that a gift would lift her spirits.

Sure enough, her attention did turn away from the window, but the smile Draco longed to see still didn't appear. "You do?"

Pleased at her interest, hollow though it was, he sat down beside her before the window and plunged his hand into his pocket. He grabbed Melody's hand and turned to so that her palm was facing upwards, and deposited the contents of his pocket into her palm. For a moment, she just stared at the hankerchief, tied with a knot on top like a tiny sack.

"Are you going to open it?" Draco asked anxiously. Was she not going to accept it?

Without a word, Melody undid the knot and watched the silk cloth fall away, leaving a pile of glittering jewels in her hand.

That's what it looked like at first, until she quickly realized that it was a necklace, a choker to be more precise, made of glaming silver and adorned with vibrant, deep green emeralds and luminous diamonds. "What... Draco-"

"I had it made for you," he explained, "I wanted to do something special for you, and I would've liked to go do something together, but under the circumstances..." Draco trailed off, since they both knew where that sentence was headed.

"It's beautiful, Draco," Melody gasped, awestruck. They'd been together for years, but she never expected such an extravagant gift, especially not in such... difficult times. She turned the gems in her hand, admiring the way the stones sparkled in the light. "I don't know what to say."

Draco smiled. "So you like it?"

"Of course I do! But Draco, how did you get it?"

"I told you, I had it made."

"No, I mean how did you get it in here?" Melody corrected. "I thought you weren't allowed to bring me anything."

Draco chuckled sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm not. I kinda had to smuggle that in. That's why it wasn't properly wrapped."

A ghost of a smile finally appeared on Melody's face. "The world's in total chaos, and you're worried about wrapping a present?"

"If it's a present for my girlfriend, then yes!"

"You're unbelievable," she shook her head, mildly amused. "Put it on for me?"

Draco pushed Melody's long red hair out of the way and fastened the glittering strand of jewels around her slim neck, immediately marvelling at how well the emeralds mached her eyes. "It suits you even more than I thought it would," he told her, "Come look in the mirror." He led her away to look at her reflection, every bit as radiant as the real thing. "What do you think?"

Melody couldn't find the right words. The alternating pattern of circular- and teardrop-cut emeralds accented her own colours and structure amazingly, and the glittering of the small, round diamonds added an air of grace to the piece. "It looks... It's incredible Draco. I can't thank you enough!"

Draco shook his head, "There's no need to be thanking me. You've been miserable for months because I brought you here. This isn't even a step towards making up for it."

"Draco, I've told you before, I'm not mad about you bringing me here," she held his hand while assuring him, "You thought I'd be safer here with you where you could protect me. You just made a mistake while trying to do the right thing. You don't have to make up for that."

"But I made you a prisoner!"

Melody shook her head confidently, "No, you didn't. The Death Eaters made me a prisoner. You just wanted to keep me somewhere safe."

Draco suddenly pulled Melody into a tight embrace, one that was instantly reciprocated. "I love you, Mel. I've screwed up a lot, but you've stuck with me through all of it, even though you should have ran away. You have no idea how much I love you for that."

"We both should have ran away," she mumbled into Draco's jacket, "If we had, none of this would be happening. We could have gone into hiding. Safety, peace, whatever we wanted... We could have had it all if we'd have ran away when we had the chance."

"I know. I'm sorry I ruined that chance." Draco pulled away and looked Melody in the eyes. "I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"Promise you'll do it."

Melody hesitated, but agreed, "Alright. What do you want me to do?"

Draco brushed away a stray strand of hair and said simply, "Smile for me."

Optional Prompts: 7 (must take place in only one room), 14 (Dementor), 15 (necklace)